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Faculty receives four awards

Law and Management take four accolades at 2009 alumni awards

Four alumni from the Faculty of Law and Management have been formally recognised for their distinguished services to their community and nation.

The awardees were selected from a group of outstanding graduates from La Trobe University who have made a significant contribution in a broad range of areas including: social work, economic research, education, information technology, biochemistry, research and enterprise.

At a glittering evening awards ceremony held at the National Art Gallery in Melbourne on Wednesday April 29 2009, Vice Chancellor Paul Johnson spoke of the University’s pride at sending out graduates who turn their talents to the advancement of society through research, business, social work and other forms of contribution.

Professor Johnson reiterated that the Distinguished Alumni Awards remain an important aspect of alumni relations, stating that they facilitate a connection between past and present students through a mentoring program.

This year also saw Khodadad Rezaee, the inaugural Albury-Wodonga student graduate Valedictorian, speak at the awards. Known by his Australian name Jason, Khodadad arrived in Australia eight years ago as a refugee from Afghanistan, completing his undergraduate Bachelor of Business at the Albury-Wodonga campus last year. He has since begun work for a local accountancy firm.

Law and Management alumni recipients for this year included:

PROFESSOR MARK McGILLIVRAY

Bachelor of Economics 1982, Bachelor of Arts (Hons), PhD Business 1989Professor McGillivray is the Chief Economist of the Australian Agency for International Development after being awarded Harvard University’s Inaugural Fellowship by the Human Development and Capability Association (HDCA).

MS JAMILA GORDO

Bachelor of Business 1994Born in Somalia, Jamila completed her degree and has worked overseas for companies such as Deloitte and IBM, she has since returned home to become Qantas Group Chief Information officer in 2007.

DR DAVID MORGAN

Bachelor of Economics (Hons) 1969David Morgan is the author of Over-Taxation by Inflation. Dr Morgan is married to former Federal Minister, The Hon. Ros Kelly AO with whom he has established a family charitable foundation and has two children.

DR IAN WATT

Master of Economics 1979 PhD Business 1987Dr Watt was the Minister (Economic) at the Embassy of Australia in Washington for two-and-a-half years and is the is the current chair of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Working Party of Senior Budget Officials. 130,000 students have graduated from La Trobe since the University’s opening in 1967, with seven such graduates receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009 to make the total 26 since 1998.